In pictures: Hightown’s ‘close-knit’ community pulls together as Lantern Land lights up school playground

The school’s annual Lantern Land celebrated its 10th event last Thursday evening, March 14, having been launched in 2015.

The community occasion sees pupils, staff and families design and create lanterns, made out of dried-out willow, over a two-week period before being proudly showcased in the school’s playground.

Themes over the years have included Disney, Animal Kingdom, Around The World, Blue Planet and Step Back In Time. This landmark 10th edition, opened by Batley and Spen MP Kim Leadbeater, paid homage to those topics with this year’s theme entitled Through The Years.

Thanking the local communities involvement, Scot Minto, pastoral manager at the school, based on Hightown Road, said:

“It was brilliant. It was our 10th event and we are a close team. We have two lead artists and it is run in school by parent volunteers who are absolutely amazing. They come in and support the event in school.

“We have class workshops every day throughout the two-week period and four evenings and four weekend workshops where families come together and have a go at making their own lanterns.

“We set out all the lanterns around the playground and Kim Leadbeater cut the ribbon and said a few words. We had our choir singing and for 700 people to come to support us, for a one-form entry primary with only about 200 children, is a big thing.

“It was a magical evening. It’s about being a community school and bringing everybody together. We have got a really close-knit group of families who work together with the staff. It’s a culmination of that. It’s our big event.

“I’d also like to thank the local businesses involved, especially the ones who provided the food for the workshops, including Casa Luli, Hadfields Bakery in Cleckheaton and Frankie and Bennies. It brought everyone together.”

Lanterns created at this year’s event included famous landmarks such as Big Ben and Tower Bridge, as well as butterflies, an octopus and a penguin.

Take a look at these fabulous photos from Hightown Junior Infant and Nursery School’s Lantern Land event, including some pictures of the lanterns in the process of being made.